Like his brother, Joncaire was sent to live with the Iroquois at a young age.[2] He also lived with the Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Shawnee and later married the Seneca Marguerite-Élisabeth-Ursule Rocbert de La Morandière in Montreal.[2]
In 1748, Joncaire was promoted to ensign.[2] Daniel-Marie replaced his brother Philippe-Thomas as the principal agent for New France among the Iroquois after Philippe-Thomas's resignation.[2] Joncaire commanded the construction of a new fort, called Fort du Portage or Little Niagara Fort, 1.5 miles above Niagara Falls to intercept furs intended for the British at Fort Oswego.[2][4] In 1750, Joncaire built a small canal above Niagara Falls to power a sawmill.[3] In 1757, Joncaire was promoted to lieutenant.[2]
In 1759, he had Fort du Portage burned down and moved his garrison to reinforce Fort Niagara.[2] On July 25, 1759, Joncaire was one of the officers who signed the surrender at the Battle of Fort Niagara.[2]
Later life
The British were relieved when Joncaire left Canada in 1761 due to his influence among the natives.[2] Upon his return, Joncaire was implicated in the Canada Affair during the Seven Years' War and consequently imprisoned in the Bastille.[2] During his trial, his defence was based on records which were destroyed when he burned down Fort du Portage; the court found him guilty of carelessness in his inventories of provisions in 1763 but effectively acquitted him with a warning against future recurrences.[2]
In 1764, Joncaire went to London and unsuccessfully asked King George III for the land of the former Fort du Portage.[2] He was prevented by Governor James Murray from trading with the native population in Niagara, but was later given permission by William Johnson and Murray's successor, Guy Carleton.[2] He died in Detroit in 1771 and was buried on July 5.[1][2][3]
Notes
↑also stylized as Daniel Joncaire, Sieur de Chabert et de Clausonne[1] or Daniel-Marie Joncaire Chaber[2]
